Spiritual Well-being and Quality of Life for Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer: Correlates and Influencing Factors.

Context: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most malignant digestive cancers, characterized by a poor prognosis. PC patients receiving chemotherapy can endure immense physical and psychological pain, negatively impacting spiritual well-being and QoL. Objective: The study intended to investigate PC patients' statuses regarding spiritual well-being and QoL, to identify and analyze the influencing factors, and to develop feasible spiritual-care plans, which could provide a reference for clinicians in promoting the spiritual well-being and QoL of PC chemotherapy patients. Design: The research team performed a prospective survey. Setting: The study took place at the Second Affiliated Hospital of the Army Medical University in Chongqing, China. Participants: Participants were 120 patients who underwent chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer (PC) at the hospital between November 2020 and April 2022. The research team selected participants using convenience sampling. Outcome Measures: The outcome measures included: (1) a self-designed questionnaire to identify participants' demographic and clinical characteristics and (2) the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being Scales (FACIT-Sp). The research team used the FACIT-Sp's two subscales, FACT-G and the FACIT-Sp-12, to evaluate participants' quality of life (QoL) and spiritual well-being, respectively. Results: The total scores for participants' spiritual well-being and QoL were 26.2 ± 5.39 and 65.44 ± 17.1, respectively. Spiritual well-being was positively correlated with the QoL (P < .001). According to the multiple linear regression analysis, the main factors influencing spiritual well-being were age (P < .01), education level (P < .001), average monthly income per capita of the family (P < .001), recurrence (P < .001), and pain (P < .05). The main factors influencing QoL were age (P = .008), education level (P < .001), average monthly income per capita of the family (P < .001), recurrence (P < .001), and pain (P < .01). Conclusions: Patients who undergo chemotherapy for PC experience a low-to-medium level of spiritual well-being and a medium level of QoL. The detrimental factors include: (1) being middle-aged, (2) having a low education level, (3) having a low family income, (4) suffering a recurrence of the disease, and (5) experiencing moderate-to-severe pain. Medical practitioners should provide extra care and support to protect the spiritual well-being of these patients and ultimately improve their QoL.

Evidences for Red Pigment Concentrating Hormone (RPCH) and Beta-Pigment Dispersing Hormone (ß-PDH) Inducing Oocyte Meiotic Maturation in the Chinese Mitten Crab, Eriocheir sinensis.

Red pigment concentrating hormone (RPCH) and pigment dispersing hormone (PDH) are crustacean neuropeptides involved in broad physiological processes including body color changes, circadian rhythm, and ovarian growth. In this study, the full-length cDNA of RPCH and PDH were identified from the brain of the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. The deduced RPCH and PDH mature peptides shared identical sequence to the adipokinetic hormone/RPCH peptides family and the ß-PDH isoforms and were designated as Es-RPCH and Es-ß-PDH, respectively. Es-RPCH and Es-ß-PDH transcripts were distributed in the brain and eyestalks. The positive signals of Es-RPCH and Es-ß-PDH were localized in the neuronal clusters 6, 8, 9, 10, and 17 of the brain as revealed by in situ hybridization. The expression level of Es-RPCH and Es-ß-PDH mRNA in nervous tissues were all significantly increased at vitellogenic stage, and then decreased at the final meiotic maturation stage. The administrated with synthesized Es-RPCH peptide results in germinal vesicles shift toward the plasma membrane in vitellogenic oocyte, and significant decrease of the gonad-somatic index (GSI) and mean oocyte diameter as well as the expression of vitellogenin mRNA at 30 days post injection in vivo. Similar results were also found when injection of the Es-ß-PDH peptide. In vitro culture demonstrated that Es-RPCH and Es-ß-PDH induced germinal vesicle breakdown of the late vitellogenic oocytes. Comparative ovarian transcriptome analysis indicated that some reproduction/meiosis-related genes such as cdc2 kinase, cyclin B, 5-HT-R and retinoid-X receptor were significantly upregulated in response to Es-RPCH and Es-ß-PDH treatments. Taken together, these results provided the evidence for the inductive effect of Es-RPCH and Es-ß-PDH on the oocyte meiotic maturation in E. sinensis.

Biological Characteristics and Molecular Mechanism of Procymidone Resistance in Stemphylium eturmiunum From Garlic.

Garlic leaf blight caused by Stemphylium eturmiunum was first reported in Jiangsu Province in China. The dicarboximide fungicide (DCF) procymidone is reported to possess broad-spectrum action in inhibiting filamentous fungi and is widely used to control leaf disease of various plants. Of 41 Stemphylium eturmiunum isolates collected in this study from commercial garlic farms in Pizhou and Dafeng counties of Jiangsu Province, eight isolates were resistant to procymidone. The following three phenotypes were categorized according to in vitro responses to DCFs: sensitive, low resistance to iprodione and procymidone, and high resistance to all iprodione and procymidone. The fitness of all resistant isolates was decreased in accordance with data on mycelial growth, conidiation, and virulence. After treatment with 10 µg/ml of procymidone for 4 h, mycelial intracellular glycerol concentrations of resistant isolates were significantly lower than those of sensitive isolates. Positive cross-resistance was observed between dicarboximides and phenylpyrroles, but there was no cross-resistance between dicarboximides and fluazinam or difenoconazole in the two resistant phenotypes. Nucleotide sequence alignment of two-component histidine kinase genes from sensitive and resistant isolates indicated that amino acid mutations were located at the histidine kinase, adenylyl cyclase, methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein and at the phosphatase domain of the N-terminal region and the response regulator domain of the C-terminal region. To our knowledge, this is the first report of DCF resistance in Stemphylium eturmiunum, and these findings will help establish a rational strategy to manage DCF-resistant populations of Stemphylium eturmiunum in the field.

Detection and Fitness of Dicarboximide-Resistant Isolates of Alternaria alternata from Dendrobium officinale, a Chinese Indigenous Medicinal Herb.

Black spot, caused by Alternaria alternata, poses a severe threat to the industry of Dendrobium officinale, a Chinese indigenous medicinal herb. Dicarboximide fungicides (DCFs) have been intensively used to control this disease for decades in China, and offer excellent efficacy. The resistance of phytopathogenic pathogens against DCFs are reportedly selected in fields; however, the DCF resistance of A. alternata from D. officinale is not well understood. The isolates of A. alternata with low procymidone resistance (ProLR) were detected in the commercial orchards of D. officinale in China in 2018 and biochemically characterized in this study. The result showed that the ProLR isolates were selected in the commercial orchards with a resistance frequency of 100%, and no significant difference in mycelial growth, sporulation, and virulence was observed among the ProLR and procymidone-sensitive (ProS) isolates. A positive cross-resistance pattern was exhibited between procymidone and iprodione. Results of amino acid sequence alignment of AaOS-1 from the tested isolates showed that all of the ProLR genotypes could be categorized into two groups, including group I (mutations at AaOs-1) and group II (no mutation). Under procymidone (5.0 µg/ml) treatment conditions, the AaOs-1 expression levels increased in the ProS isolates and ranged from approximately 2.94- to 3.69-fold higher than those under procymidone-free conditions, while the AaOs-1 expressions of the ProLR isolates were significantly lower than those in the ProS isolates under the same conditions. The data indicated that the mutations at AaOs-1 are involved in the DCF resistance of A. alternata selected in the D. officinale orchards.

Growth and elemental uptake of Trifolium repens in response to biochar addition, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and phosphorus fertilizer applications in low-Cd-polluted soils.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, biochar (BC) addition and phosphorus (P) fertilizer applications on the mycorrhizal response, biomass and elemental uptake of Trifolium repens in cadmium (Cd)-polluted soils. The results showed that mycorrhizal colonization were significantly decreased by 100 mg P kg-1 fertilizer input. Moreover, AM fungi, BC addition and P fertilizer significantly increased shoot biomass accumulation at all treatments. In the absence of BC, the nitrogen (N), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) contents in the shoots were not affected by AM fungi after P fertilizer application, but the P content in the shoots significantly increased in response to AM fungi. In the absence of BC, both AM fungi and P fertilizer significantly reduced the Cd concentrations in the plant tissues as well as the soil diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-Cd concentration. These results indicated that the translocation factors (TFs) were influenced only by BC addition and that the roots could accumulate greater amounts of Cd than the shoots. On the basis of the hygienic standard for feed in China, the shoot Cd concentration in white clover was below the maximum permitted Cd concentration (1 µg g-1) across all treatments. Therefore, it is suggested that no negative mycorrhizal-white clover symbiotic relationships were observed and T. repens could be a suitable forage species for planting in soils with low concentrations of Cd contamination when BC and P fertilizer are applied.

Rice straw biochar and phosphorus inputs have more positive effects on the yield and nutrient uptake of Lolium multiflorum than arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in acidic Cd-contaminated soils.

The purpose of the study was to examine biochar amendment, phosphorus (P) fertilizer and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the yield, nutrient and cadmium (Cd) absorption of Lolium multiflorum in acidic soil. It was shown that mycorrhizal inoculation had no positive influence on the plant shoot biomass and the contents of nitrogen (N), P, potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in plants at all biochar and P level treatments. Irrespective of mycorrhizal inoculation and P level, biochar amendments markedly elevated the soil available P and K uptake in plant tissues. In contrast, biochar significantly decreased the translocation factor of plants, soil exchangeable Cd, and acid and neutral phosphatase activities, regardless of the mycorrhizal inoculation and P fertilizer. Without P fertilization, biochar amendments significantly promoted shoot P content, while biochar amendments significantly reduced shoot P content when P fertilizer was applied. Without biochar application, P fertilizer application significantly promoted the biomass and N uptake of shoots in both AMF inoculation treatments, while P fertilizer increased these only in the presence of biochar and mycorrhizal inoculation. The increased N content induced by the biochar amendment elevated the shoot N:P ratio and alleviated the N deficiency with P fertilizer input. Thus, we concluded that the addition of biochar and P fertilizer showed more positive effects on the promotion of growth and nutrient uptake of L. multiflorum than AMF grown in acidic Cd-contaminated soils.

Hydrated mucilage reduces post-dispersal seed removal of a sand desert shrub by ants in a semiarid ecosystem.

Post-dispersal seed removal by animals can lead to extensive seed loss and thus is an important factor in structuring plant communities. However, we know much less about post-dispersal seed predation than about other forms of herbivory. Mucilage plays many ecological roles in adaptation of plants to diverse environments; nevertheless, until now the role of mucilage in ant-mediated seed movement remains largely hypothetical. We studied the role of mucilage in seed removal of Artemisia sphaerocephala by ants in Mu Us Sandland in Inner Mongolia, China. Messor aciculatus was the most active seed predator of Artemisia sphaerocephala. Time to first ant collecting (T 1st) of wet intact seeds was longest and significantly different from that for dry intact seeds, wet demucilaged seeds, and dry demucilaged seeds; number of seeds removed to ant nests was lowest for wet intact seeds. After they were collected by ants, 5 % of wet intact seeds were dropped during transport. Our results indicate that seed mucilage of Artemisia sphaerocephala may play a significant role in post-dispersal seed removal by (1) making seeds less attractive to ants, thus resulting in a delay of collection time; (2) forming a strong bond to soil particles, making it difficult for ants to remove seeds; and (3) making seeds more likely to be dropped during transport, thereby allowing them to escape from predation even after collection by ants. This study demonstrates the importance of mucilage in reducing seed removal by ants and thus in anchoring seeds of desert plants in the vicinity of mother plants.